![Health and Justice bulletin](/sites/default/files/emails/Health-and-Justice_2.png)
In this month's edition...
Clinks held the final health and justice network event of the financial year. We reflected on the year that health and justice organisations have had since lockdown, and what they’re anticipating and concerned about in the next financial year. Organisations reflected that some have had better engagement with their beneficiaries than ever this year due to remote services, whereas others have had engagement completely drop due to the inability to access prisons. Funding wise, some organisations have had an underspend due to lack of access to service uses, whilst others have overspent due to needing to source extra workers due to illness and buying equipment for remote working. Looking to the next year, organisations are hopeful for the future but also concerned about insecure funding and how restrictions will be lifted.
Moving into the next financial year, we will be tailoring our support to respond to members' needs more thematically. We will change our monthly health and justice events to events centred on specific topics, policies, and programmes relating to health and justice. To find out more about these events, keep an eye on our communications, including Light Lunch, social media, website and this bulletin.
To support Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons and Probation’s review on neurodiversity in the criminal justice system, Clinks held a roundtable with 30 voluntary sector organisations who work with people with neurodiverse conditions. In this roundtable, we discussed screening and identification of neurodiverse conditions, training and support for staff, programmes and interventions that the voluntary sector provides, and the impact of Covid-19 on organisations working in this area. Clinks will continue to engage with the review on neurodiversity and work to reflect the feedback and experiences of the voluntary sector.
Clinks held the final Community Sentence Treatment Requirement (CSTR) programme site visit with the Northamptonshire site, who work with women. This will inform an upcoming blog series on the CSTR programme, where we will give readers an idea of how the sites function, the benefits they offer, and how they have been faring during Covid-19.
Policy Officer vacancy
We are seeking someone with experience of national policy work in the voluntary sector to join our team as Policy Officer [£27,539, London (currently home based), full time]. You will be responsible for keeping track of policy developments and summarising these to ensure internal and external audiences are kept up to date through Clinks’ policy briefing ebulletin, blogs and social media. You will undertake desk-based research and engage with organisations to draft and develop evidence-based consultation responses, reports and policy recommendations. Great analytical skills and an ability to articulate complex issues and nuanced policy positions succinctly are essential for this role. Find out more and apply by the 28th March here
New Minister for Prisons and Probation
Alex Chalk MP has been appointed as Minster for Prisons and Probation within the Ministry of Justice. His responsibilities include prison and probation services, policy, reform and industrial relations, health of people in contact with the criminal justice system, women in contact with the criminal justice system, rehabilitation and release, and race disparity in the criminal justice system. Lucy Frazer MP has been appointed Solicitor General. Clinks has written a letter to Minister Chalk, congratulating him on his extended portfolio, and highlighting the ways in which we’ve been working with the department on prisons, probation and women. Read more here
Review of health and social care in women’s prisons
In recognition of women’s specific needs as a result of sex and gender inequalities, the National Women’s Prisons Health and Social Care Review has been commissioned by NHS England and NHS Improvement and Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service. The aim is to develop a better understanding of the current challenges faced by the women’s prison estate, prison and health and social care services in delivering high quality care, treatment, and support for women in custody. The programme will review health and social care delivery in 12 women’s prisons over 12 months. The goal is to reduce health inequalities and improve health and social care outcomes for women whilst in prison and on their release and return to their communities and families. For more information, contact charlottewinter@nhs.net
New Inquiry into the health of women in prison
The All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Women in the Penal System is launching a new Inquiry in March 2021 into the growing evidence that prisons have a damaging impact on women’s health and well-being. The Inquiry will hear from expert witnesses and consider what steps should be taken to improve women’s health and prevent harm. It will look at how prisons promote well-being and support the specific and diverse needs of women. The APPG is accepting submissions of evidence for this inquiry of up to 2000 words. Submit evidence here by 30th April
£3 million pilot to reduce reoffending by young adults
The Ministry of Justice has announced £3 million of funding for young adults supervised by the probation service to receive specialist drug and mental health support at a new centre based at Newham Probation Office, to reduce reoffending. Mental health and substance misuse experts will work alongside National Probation Service staff as part of a new approach for vulnerable young adults to receive enhanced support. Accommodation, training and employment services will also operate from the hub under one roof. The pilot will launch in July and run until March 2023 for 18-25 year olds who are assessed as having low levels of maturity and 17 year olds transitioning from the Youth Offending Service to adult probation. If successful, this pilot will be rolled out across the country. Read more here
Secure video calls
The Ministry of Justice and Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service have published policy guidance for prison staff on secure social video calls. The Policy Framework is an interim policy which sets out the rules and guidance for staff in all prisons and young offender institutions to help them to offer secure social video calling during the Covid-19 pandemic. Social video calling offers prisoners and young people another way of communicating with family and friends whilst physical social visits are reduced and they operate alongside, not as a replacement for, face-to-face social visits. Read the policy here
Sniffer dogs deployed in prisons
An investment of £300,000 will see sniffer dogs trained to detect new compounds of Spice, a psychoactive and synthetic substance, in prisons. A partnership between Ministry of Justice and Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL) will support scientists to create expanded detection programmes. This investment forms part of the £100 million investment announced in August 2019 to address violence, self-harm, and substance misuse in prisons. Read more here
Inquiry into racial injustice in UK maternity services
As part of its national inquiry, Birth Rights is gathering evidence about women and birthing peoples’ experiences of maternity care in the UK. It is particularly looking to hear from black, brown and mixed ethnicity women and birthing people about the care they received during their pregnancy, birth and after their baby was born. It would also like to hear from health care professionals working within the maternity services about their experiences of racial injustice and how it impacts on them both personally and professionally. Read more here
Co-producing RECONNECT: Care after Custody service
Kate Morrissey, National Implementation Lead for the RECONNECT: Care after Custody Service at NHS England and Improvement, and the Revolving Doors Agency Lived Experience team are holding an event on the RECONNECT service in conjunction with Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service’s Insights team [21st April, online, free]. For many people, release from prison is a crisis point, and this event will explore the gap this can create and the co-production of the RECONNECT service. RECONNECT starts working with people before they leave prison and helps them make the transition to community-based services that will provide the health and care support that they need. Read our guest blog from Kate Morrissey on RECONNECT here. Register for the event here
HMPPS weekly Covid-19 data
As of 1st March 2021, there were 15 deaths of individuals in the adult estate related to Covid-19, compared to 9 deaths on 22nd February. Of this 15, 14 were confirmed or suspected to be due to Covid-19. As of 1st March, 511 people in prison tested positive for Covid-19 across 63 sites, compared to 967 people testing positive across 68 sites on 22nd February. These statistics are updated weekly. Read more here
The Covid-19 vaccine: a summary of patient views
Donna Gipson and Dr Lucy Wainwright from EP:IC Consultants consulted 805 people in prison on their likelihood of accepting the Covid-19 vaccine. The consultation was undertaken using surveys in nine prisons in the South East of England. 78% of people in prison said they intended to accept a vaccine if offered, with 19% saying they would decline and 3% unsure or hesitant. The main factors associated with people who said they would decline the vaccine were age and ethnic background. People from mixed heritage communities and black people were least likely to accept the vaccine with 58% and 57% respectively stating they would accept a vaccine, compared to three quarters of white people saying they would accept it. One of most significant barriers to accepting the vaccine related to trust of institutions and systems. Read the report here
Sharing worries and concerns with prisons
Pact is continuing to update and improve the new Prisoners’ Families Helpline website with useful content and resources. This week the ‘Worries and Concerns’ page has been added to the site and families can now select a prison to identify the relevant numbers to contact with their concern. Having all the Safer Custody and switchboard numbers in one place will considerably help families to share their worries and concerns with establishments. Amongst many other changes to the site, Pact has also updated the ‘Useful Links’ which includes details of voluntary organisations supporting people in contact with the criminal justice system. Read more here
Complex social issues
Small and local charities with a yearly income of £25,000 to £1 million who are helping people experiencing complex social issues – including addiction, mental health, learning disabilities, homelessness, and experience of the criminal justice system – can now apply for a two-year unrestricted grant of £50,000 from the Lloyds Bank Foundation for England and Wales. Alongside unrestricted funding, successful charities will be supported by one of the Foundation’s regional managers, who will work with them to access a wide range of organisational development support to help meet identified needs. There is no deadline - applications for funding will remain open throughout the year. Find out more here
RECONNECT: Care after Custody
In this guest blog, Kate Morrissey introduces the RECONNECT service and explains how it was developed in consultation with people with lived experience and voluntary sector organisations. Kate Morrissey is the National Implementation Lead for RECONNECT, which is NHS England’s care after custody service. RECONNECT starts working with people before they leave prison, where they will have access to a RECONNECT worker, and helps them to make the transition to community-based services that will provide the health and care support that they need. The first RECONNECT services went live in January 2020, and are currently available in 11 live pathfinder sites. The aim is to have 100% geographical coverage by April 2024. Read the blog here
Vaccines in prisons
This blog from Policy Officer Will Downs provides updates on the government's approach to vaccinations in prisons, current progress of the vaccination programme and ways of responding to vaccine hesitancy among people in the criminal justice system. Many in the voluntary sector have been advocating for a whole prison approach to vaccinations, but as yet there has been no formal response to such requests. Government policy remains the same - people in prison will continue to be vaccinated along the same timescale as people in the community. Read the blog here
Making music in a pandemic
This blog details the journey Good Vibrations has gone through during the Covid-19 pandemic and how it has adapted to the changing restrictions. Good Vibrations uses communal music-making to change lives, working with people in secure settings and marginalised people in the community, and is best known for using the Indonesian gamelan – an orchestra of gongs, metallophones and drums. Even when it cannot be delivered in-person, music and creative work has continued to be so important for supporting people to cope, reflect, learn and connect through this time. This blog forms part of a case study for our report, The impact of Covid-19 on the voluntary sector in criminal justice. Read the report here. Read the blog here
Get involved Become a Member | Follow Clinks on Twitter
Contact Us www.clinks.org | info@clinks.org | 020 7383 0966
About Clinks Health and justice bulletin
This regular bulletin provides Clinks members with the latest news for voluntary organisations involved in the health and care of people in the criminal justice system. It currently has 2,428 subscribers.
To submit content, or have comments or ideas about how this ebulletin could be improved, please email zahra.wynne@clinks.org
Click here to manage your subscriptions. For assistance, email info@clinks.org
© Clinks, 2021
Registered office: Clinks, Block C, 5th Floor, Tavistock House, Tavistock Square, London, WC1H 9JJ
Registered charity: 1074546 | Company limited by guarantee in England & Wales: 3562